The Avenger

Alternate Titles: Outlaw, Outcast

The Avenger is generally a dark, conflicted character -- the sort of lonely figure who has done time in jail and has secret sins lurking in his past. The classic Avenger plots involve a grave crime or evil that cannot be redressed through traditional justice: the criminal is too well protected, the crime is not on any law book, or the evil has been perpetrated by the Sherrif of the town. The Avenger is the guy who has nothing to lose, who will bring down justice, usually of a bloody variety, on the heads of those who deserve to die.
The darkest and least "heroic" of the heroic types, the Avenger is often mistaken for a villain. He's usually uncouth, unkempt, with a disturbing capacity for violence. He is not, however, easily provoked: he might talk big about how he's ready to mow down anyone who crosses his path, but the reality is that it usually takes a great deal to spur him to serious acts of violence. When he does snap, he usually comes across as a man who has endured as much as a man can endure before he breaks.
He may be softened, particularly in romance plots, into a sort of brooding hero, or turned into someone who has been treated badly by the world. He is often rejected and mistreated, misunderstood and suffering. Although a falsely accused man will generally be a Priest, the Avenger may be punished for his sins well beyond their actual gravity. His salvation or justification, either through the love of a woman or the forebearance of the gods, is the ultimate goal of his quest.

Archetypal Events: Wander, Plague of Conscience, Confess

Common Avenger Plots:

First Blood - The Avenger has committed some minor social sin like vagrancy or stealing a loaf of bread. He is persecuted by the Law, robbed of his dignity, his liberty, or even his loved ones. Eventually his patience is utterly exhausted and he goes on a murderous spree, destroying the Pharisee, his lackies, his home, his town, and his descendents throughout all generations.

Redemption Romance - A good-hearted Adulteress falls in love with the Avenger. Their love is impossible: she is a marked woman with a shameful past, and he is harbouring secrets sins and a slate of grudges that must be cleared. Her love follows him into the darkness of violence, persecution and imprisonment. Through this they are both redeemed. A variant is where the woman is an Intercessor. In this case, the romance is doomed, usually because the Avenger is going to be executed. She is still able to bring him to salvation before he dies or before they are separated forever.

One of these Days God Will Cut You Down - A wrong has been done, and there is no one to right it. A respectable woman murdered her husband's bastard child, or a prostitute was maimed by a pillar of society. The Avenger's wife and children were burned to death in their beds. That sort of thing. The Avenger hunts down and slaughters those responsible.

The Open Road: The Avenger not only lacks a roof over his head, but often lacks even a bit of cloth or a cardboard box in which to sleep. If he does have a place to stay, he is probably overdue on the rent and is in the process of being evicted. His sufferings/sins place him outside of human society; he is functionally excommunicated until he is healed.
Supply of Restraint: There is only so much that a man can take before he snaps. The Avenger often tries to be moderate, patient and long-suffering, but eventually he loses his cool, and all hell breaks loose.
The Jawbone of an Ass: This can be anything that comes to hand: an axe, a bludgeon, a machine gun or a pair of fists. The essential feature is that once it starts killing, it does not stop until there is a pile of bodies.
Rags and Tatters: The Avenger generally looks shabby. He can't afford new clothes, and his torn garments immediately set him apart from ordinary society.
Salvation: This is the sinner tortured by his sins, seeking salvation. He is willing to suffer pain, imprisonment, even death if it will restore him. Salvation may mean the ability to re-enter society, but more importantly, it means that his conscience will finally be at rest.
Heaps Upon Heaps: The Avenger's monument could be a pile of bodies in the saloon, a temple brought down on enemy heads, or a battlefield stacked with the dead.
Minor Symbols: Dust

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